Karmma means intentional action. Dreams and their content are not intentional - they just happen.

mettaChris

---The trouble is that you think you have time------Worry is the Interest, paid in advance, on a debt you may never owe------It's not what happens to you in life that is important ~ it's what you do with it ---

Karmma means intentional action. Dreams and their content are not intentional - they just happen.

mettaChris

Hi Chris, thank you for your reply.I feel that actions in some dreams are intentional...or, maybe I do not know the meaning of intention. What actually is intention? What is the Pali word for intention?

Hmmm ... I have the impression that I've engaged in volitional actions in dreams sometimes. When I'm dreaming, it seems like sometimes I make choices about what to do in the dream. Isn't that a form of volition?

Rain soddens what is kept wrapped up,But never soddens what is open;Uncover, then, what is concealed,Lest it be soddened by the rain.

Thank you Ben. It seems to me that Pali Cetanā has a little bit different meaning from that of my native language Nepali in which Cetanā means Consciousness.Anyways, I am still uncertain how could dreams not have intentions.

With regards to ethics in dreams, according to Vinaya rules, there is no offence for actions committed in dreams, for example, it is not an offence to dream of having sex, even if it results in emission of semen[4] . Does this mean that dream consciousness is ethically neutral? This was, in fact, one of the points of controversy dealt with in the Kathāvatthu, which explains that although dream consciousness is not ethically neutral, since no actual harm is done to property or life it cannot be classed as involving offence[5] . Furthermore, there is volition in dream, but that volition is negligible.[6] This is in line with the Vibhaṅga-aṭṭhakathā, which explains that dream consciousness can be ‘profitable [kusala/wholesome], unprofitable [akusala/unwholesome] or indeterminate [neither wholesome nor unwholesome]’[7] . For example, it is profitable when one dreams of listening to the Law [Dharma], preaching the Law, or paying homage at shrines. It is unprofitable when one dreams of killing living beings. When free from both extremes, the dream consciousness is indeterminate.[8] It also makes clear that dream consciousness has karmic results. Although such results are not strong enough to bring about rebirth linking, they may be experienced at some time in the future.[9] This would lend support to the importance of falling asleep mindfully so as to avoid committing unwholesome actions in dreams. In fact, the Vinaya records the Buddha’s advice on falling asleep as:

...It also makes clear that dream consciousness has karmic results. Although such results are not strong enough to bring about rebirth linking, they may be experienced at some time in the future.[9] This would lend support to the importance of falling asleep mindfully so as to avoid committing unwholesome actions in dreams. In fact, the Vinaya records the Buddha’s advice on falling asleep as:

This was my understanding as well.Metta

Ben

Learn this from the waters:in mountain clefts and chasms,loud gush the streamlets,but great rivers flow silently.

With regards to ethics in dreams, according to Vinaya rules, there is no offence for actions committed in dreams, for example, it is not an offence to dream of having sex, even if it results in emission of semen[4] . Does this mean that dream consciousness is ethically neutral? This was, in fact, one of the points of controversy dealt with in the Kathāvatthu, which explains that although dream consciousness is not ethically neutral, since no actual harm is done to property or life it cannot be classed as involving offence[5] . Furthermore, there is volition in dream, but that volition is negligible.[6] This is in line with the Vibhaṅga-aṭṭhakathā, which explains that dream consciousness can be ‘profitable [kusala/wholesome], unprofitable [akusala/unwholesome] or indeterminate [neither wholesome nor unwholesome]’[7] . For example, it is profitable when one dreams of listening to the Law [Dharma], preaching the Law, or paying homage at shrines. It is unprofitable when one dreams of killing living beings. When free from both extremes, the dream consciousness is indeterminate.[8] It also makes clear that dream consciousness has karmic results. Although such results are not strong enough to bring about rebirth linking, they may be experienced at some time in the future.[9] This would lend support to the importance of falling asleep mindfully so as to avoid committing unwholesome actions in dreams. In fact, the Vinaya records the Buddha’s advice on falling asleep as:

Thanks a lot. So the dreams may involve intentions but the karmic results are not strong and are negligible.